


Bloom Later

by gemnism



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Eren x Reader - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Modern AU, Neighbors, Slow Burn, Smut, aot x reader, eren smut, snk, snk x reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:54:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29016960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemnism/pseuds/gemnism
Summary: [Modern AU] Everything was a game between you two. Who would get mad first, who would get jealous first, who would pull back first, and who would fall first.none of the characters belong to me!
Relationships: Eren Yeager/Reader
Comments: 24
Kudos: 122





	1. -1-

You placed the teal vase that your friend Sasha had given you as a housewarming gift onto the translucent coffee table. It was your finishing touch, and you were  _ finally _ settled into your first apartment. It was around 10am when you got finished with everything and you had started at around 7. The moment the finishing touches came together you could feel yourself become overwhelmed from exhaustion, the lack of sleep finally kicking in. The idea of having an entire apartment to yourself began to truly settle in, and the space around you suddenly felt massive. You were going to miss having Sasha around to cook midnight snacks for you, or insist that the two of you go dinner hopping. A long yawn escaped your lips, causing your eyes to tear up slightly, and you decided that it was time for you to get some coffee into your system. The memory of Sasha pointing towards a nearby coffee shop immediately came to you. You couldn’t remember exactly where it was, but the area was small enough that you knew you’d be able to find it eventually. You headed for the door, remembering to grab your keys and wallet on your way out. There was only one other apartment on that floor directly across from yours, and you found yourself wondering what kind of person lived there- or what the decor looked like. There was always a lot that could be said by a person by the way they decorated their living space, it was like getting a glimpse into their world in your eyes. You made your way down the flight of stairs, greeted by the warm sun as you exited the apartment building. You paused for a moment and looked on either side of you, trying to see if you could get any identicator of where said coffee shop was. You noticed a few people walking from your right side with to-go coffee cups in their hands, so you figured it wouldn’t hurt to start in that direction. 

You walked for about a block until you saw the entrance of the coffee shop that Sasha pointed out to you earlier that day. Mentally praising yourself for your ability to find the place, you entered, immediately hit with the warm scent of coffee and hazelnut. The line wasn’t too long since it was work rush hour, and most of the people that were getting coffee that morning had most likely already gotten to work. You ordered a small americano, figuring that you didn’t need too much of an energy boost because it wasn’t like you planned on doing anything that day anyways. Standing to the side, you texted your friend to let her know that you were at the coffee shop that she had pointed out. The two of you went back and forth for a moment, beaming over how fun it would be for her to visit you from time to time and how nice it would be for the two of you to get coffee together. You heard your order called, and you grabbed your drink from the barista, smiling softly and muttering a “thank you” before turning back to your phone. Without looking up you walked towards what you thought would be the exit, only to feel yourself bump into something firm. Your hot coffee was beyond saving, as it had spilled everywhere and you instantly heard a string of curses coming from in front of you, causing you to look up from your phone with wide eyes. 

‘Oh my god I’m so sorry I should have watched where I was going.” You quickly made your way over to the coffee customizing station, grabbing a handful of napkins and tossing the empty cup into the garbage before turning back to the victim. As you dabbed his shirt with the napkins that you had, you felt his hand grab yours, gently pulling them from your grasp as he began cleaning himself off. 

“You shouldn’t walk around with your eyes glued to your phone like that. You should watch where you’re going.” He said calmly. You looked up at him, surprised at how attractive he was. If you weren’t embarrassed before you  _ certainly _ were now. It had been less than a day of you living in the new area and you had already managed to assault an attractive local. 

“I’ll pay for your coffee, it’s the least I can do.”

“I’ll take a cappuccino. Large.” You could tell he was trying his best to be nice about the situation, if it was the other way around you knew you’d be cursing them out in a fit of rage. You nodded at his request and turned back towards the barista- who had been stifling his laugh as he watched the entire interaction. After taking your order you were pleasantly surprised to see that he didn’t charge you for your americano, figuring that the ordeal you went through was more than enough that you had to deal with for the day. You thanked him again, feeling your cheeks heat in embarrassment as you turned back towards the tall stranger, handing him his drink. 

“Sorry again about that.” You noticed him roll his warm green eyes at you as he shook his head in response. 

“Just pay attention when you walk next time, don’t worry about it.” 

Not wanting to be at the scene anymore than you were, you swiftly made your way out of the coffee shop and sped down the block, refusing to even take a sip of your drink. You were reconsidering becoming a regular at that shop, not wanting to have to face the workers that saw you humiliate yourself- or even worse, the person that you had turned into a victim. Once you were in the safety of the building you decided to take your first sip of your drink, only to realize in horror that you had the  _ wrong _ drink. You physically slapped your palm against your forehead as you dragged yourself up the stairs, hoping to god that you’d never see him again and that your time at the coffee shop had officially come to an end. 

“Get your shit together y/n.” You reprimanded yourself as you walked into your apartment. The drink wasn’t too far from your liking, and you figured it would be a waste to just throw it out, so you finished it as you relaxed on your couch. The feeling of the velvet against your skin made you giddy as you looked around at your surroundings. This was  _ your _ apartment. That velvet couch was  _ yours _ ,  _ all yours. _ You decided to sprawl out on the couch and break in your new tv to pass the time since you had nothing better to do. After a few moments of channel surfing and stream surfing you decided to give up, knowing that nothing would be able to grab your attention while you were  _ this _ tired. You left the tv on a random channel, allowing the show to play as background music as you started to drift to sleep so you could take a well deserved nap. 

\-------

It felt like only a few minutes had gone by before you were woken up by the sound of knocking at your door. Gathering some sense of your surroundings you shot up, looking out of the windows in your living room to see that the sun had already gone down. It was already 7pm, you had slept the entire day without even realizing. Hearing the knocking at your door continue, you gathered yourself together, making your way over to the door to see who it was that was bothering you at that hour.

“Coming!” You yelped as you rushed to the door. The moment you opened it you wish you hadn’t as your eyes fell on the same green eyes that were before this morning.

“We’ll i’ll be fucking damned.” He said with a cheeky grin. Before you could retort you noticed his hand was out towards you with a pair of keys in them. “My coffee must not have been strong enough if you were able to leave this in your lock.” 

Your eyes widened as you realized what he was saying. You had completely forgotten to take your keys out of the lock when you were getting back into your apartment. The idea of someone having access to your space and things going  _ horribly _ wrong for you that night fell heavy on your mind as you grimaced, grabbing the keys back from him. 

“Thank you...but how did you know I live here?”

“I didn’t, I was just coming over to greet my new neighbor. If I knew it was going to be you I obviously wouldn’t.” He joked as he held his hand out again, this time for you to shake. You took his hand in yours, your face heating up from embarrassment as the memories from that morning settled in once again. 

“Y/n, nice to meet you-”

“Eren Jaegar. I’m cooking dinner right now with my roommate, and I wanted to know if you wanted to eat dinner with us...y’know as a way to welcome you.” A part of you was afraid to say yes, because you knew if you had agreed that you would just be giving yourself another opportunity to embarrass yourself in front of your intimidatingly attractive neighbor. You knew you would agree regardless though, because  _ anything _ was better than spending your first night in your new place completely alone- and you were sure that whatever he cooked up would be better than anything you were going to eat. 

“Sure I’d love to.” He nodded at your words in approval before turning his back on you as he waved his hand, signalling for you to follow him. You threw on your house slippers and quickly made your way behind him- making sure you had your keys this time. 

His apartment was reasonably bland, aside from a collection of frat-esque empty alcohol bottles that stayed lined up at the top of a tiny at-home bar in the corner of the dining room. The warm aroma of what you could make out to be pasta of some sort filled your nose, and your stomach grumbled. You had become painfully aware that you were just running on coffee for that day due to your unexpectedly long nap, and you were ravenous. 

“We have a visitor Jean, keep your dick in your pants.” Eren yelled out to the roommate as he walked into the kitchen. Unsure of what to do since it wasn’t your space, you followed cautiously behind him, wondering if this “Jean” character was the one handling the stove. Upon entering the kitchen you saw him. He was tall and slender, and he had flowy light brown hair that was perfectly swooped away from his face that showed a small stubble where his beard and mustache should have been. As his eyes fell on you he whistled playfully, nodding in approval at your appearance. 

“I thought you were inviting the neighbor over, not my dream girl.” Both you and Eren visibly cringed at his pathetic attempt at flirting and you heard his hand smack the back of his friend’s head. 

“Y/n, this is Jean, Jean this is the idiot that spilled coffee on me this morning.”

“You’re joking.” Jean replied, looking in between you and the green eyed boy before breaking into a fit of laughter. “What are the fucking odds.” 

“Apparently pretty high.” You muttered, rolling your eyes in response as you made your way towards the stove to get a sneak peek of what was being cooked. Jean had been making a  _ large _ pot of penne alla vodka, which to your surprise looked amazing. Eren had been watching you practically drool over the pot, which you didn’t notice until he cleared his throat and handed you a plate to serve yourself. 

The three of you sat at the dining room, each having a glass of wine with your dinner. The majority of the meal was silent, mostly since you were too focused on scarfing down the food that was even better than how it smelled. Once you had finished your plate you leaned back into your seat in content, arms stretched out and head tilted as you let out a loud sigh of content. The motion caused both Eren and Jean to laugh as they finished eating not too soon after you.

“The food wasn’t going anywhere you know.” Eren joked as he took a sip from his glass.

“Don’t be mean Eren, she was fuckin that shit up let her enjoy it in peace.” The two of them bantered over you, and you rolled your eyes in response, finishing off the last of your drink as you did so. 

“If you guys are just gonna harass me while I’m here I can just go home, you know where I don’t have to deal with two dickheads.” You joked. 

“Aht aht, that’s no way to treat people that just kindly fed you.” Jean waved his finger at you jokingly as he went around the table, grabbing everyone's plates to put them in the dishwasher. Eren looked over at you after a moment, taking in your appearance with a curious look on his face, and you instantly knew that you were about to be interrogated. 

“So, what brings you here, what do you do?” 

“I’m not working right now, just figuring out my next steps.” You began. You  _ did _ have a job when you first signed the lease for the place, but soon everything was thrown in your face. At first the thought of being unemployed during a new chapter of your life scared you- especially since you were only 22, but you figured if anything it was the perfect time for you to be out of work. You had enough money saved up to support yourself for at least a few months while you found yourself and figured out what you really wanted to do, and you were kind of excited to see where you would end up in the end. 

“What about you?” You threw the question back at him in an attempt to learn more about him. “What do you do?”

“I own that coffee shop.” At first you thought he was joking, and you rolled your eyes as you let out a soft laugh. The look on his face however, implied that he wasn’t joking. His eyebrows were raised as he took in your response, unsure of how to react. 

“Wait...you’re serious?” He nodded. “If you owned the coffee shop...why did you let me buy you a coffee?” You could hear Jean burst into laughter from the kitchen as you said this, and he interjected as he walked back into the main area. 

“You made her buy you a coffee?”

“I didn’t  _ make _ her do anything, she offered.” He shrugged.

“You’re an asshole.” He laughed harder at Eren’s response, his arms hugging himself as he folded over. Your face was hot, and you mentally cursed yourself for deciding to go over because just like you initially thought, you were setting yourself up for constant humiliation. You laughed lightly along with Jean in an attempt to alleviate the burning sensation in your face. 

The three of you continued to laugh and talk as you got acquainted with the two boys that lived across from you. You had learned that the two of them were both 23, and their birthdays were only about a week apart from each other, Eren being the older one. They had met each other in middle school and initially they hated each other, according to Eren because they were too similar to each other. Jean was a happily unemployed trust fund kid- which didn’t surprise you in the slightest. You found yourself enjoying their company a lot more than you initially anticipated you would, you were happy that you were able to settle into your new home with the help of your new friends.  _ It was a new beginning _ . 

  
  



	2. -2-

Two months passed since you moved into your space. You had spent a lot of your time between the coffee shop and your neighbors apartment. On occasion you would invite the two over to your place and cook them dinner- or at least make an attempt to. You and Eren- to your surprise, had quickly become close friends despite your rocky introduction to each other. If you were to tell yourself that day that you’d make one of the best friendships that you ever had, you wouldn’t believe a word of it. But there you were regardless. Eren was at your place giving himself space from his roommate who had recently developed a new habit of bringing girls around what seemed to be every other day. You watched him as he did work on his laptop on your couch beside you as you took a sip from your wine glass. He always had a funny habit of mumbling to himself when he was completely focused, and he would always scratch the side of his neck- which was your sign to lend out a helping hand. 

“What’s up?” You asked, knowing that he was too prideful to initiate the conversation that he clearly wanted to have. You became really good at reading his body language from the amount of time that the two of you spent together. It was almost like the two of you had your own secret language that nobody else understood- or at least bothered to try to understand. You watched as he tilted his head back, rubbing at his temple as he let out a long sigh. You knew this wasn’t going to be work related- there was only so much stress a small coffee shop could bring him.

“I can’t do work in my own apartment without hearing Jean fucking, and you ask me what’s up?” You rolled your eyes as the two of you shared a small laugh. 

“Sounds like jealousy if you ask me.”

“Great thing I never asked, did I?”

“Why don’t you just start seeing people too, that way it might not bother you as much, plus you’re attractive I don’t see how that can be hard.” He held his chin with his right hand as you spoke, muling over your words with a slight grimace on his face. 

“I  _ could _ , but that would be too easy, there's no fun in that.” You took another sip from your drink, mentally preparing yourself for whatever direction the conversation was going. You watched as he looked at you from the side of his eye. You and Eren recently developed a new part of your relationship with each other where you turned everything into a competition to see who was better. It was your way of killing your boredom and his way of boosting his  _ already massive _ ego, since he was the one that won the majority of the time. You could almost see his thoughts in real time as you watched his face break into a mischievous smile. You knew what he was going to try to propose and you wanted no part of it. You knew you were being set up for failure yet again by the brunette that you called your best friend. 

“What  _ would  _ be fun…” He started, closing his laptop before turning to face you directly. “Let’s see who could get with more people by the end of the month.” You downed the rest of your drink, grimacing in response to his proposition as you shook your head violently in protest. 

“There’s no way in hell I’m doing that.”

“Why not it’s just another competition.” You stood up from your seat and made your way to your kitchen to pour yourself another glass. Hookup culture was something that you had decided that you were done with the moment you graduated from College. The concept of it exhausted you more than anything, and you found yourself losing sight of who you were- which was partially why you were so excited to move into your new place. It was a completely new start in every sense of the word. It was your chance to rebuild yourself and rediscover who you were, and you knew that if you agreed to Eren’s proposition everything that you worked for would be pointless. 

“I don’t do hookup culture, you know that.” You yelled from the kitchen. 

“Okay then….” You heard him shuffle into the kitchen behind you. You turned towards the direction of the sound and saw him leaning against the island, looking at you with furrowed eyebrows as he contemplated a way to compromise. “What if it was just us then?”

“What are you talking about?” Now it was your turn to furrow your eyebrows as you took another sip of your drink, watching him as he found the right way to phrase his offer. 

“Well...we already know each other, right? So hear me out...what if we did a competition to see who could cave first?”

“Like catch feelings first?” He nodded at your clarification and you immediately scoffed. You took another sip of your drink quickly as you shook your head, almost unable to believe he was being serious. “You know that’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not, you’re attractive, I’m attractive...in the right circumstance I’m sure I could at  _ least _ make you nervous.” 

Sometimes it amazed you to hear how full of himself Eren could be, because he was generally quiet and modest when it came to his looks. The idea  _ did  _ make sense, as much as you wanted to completely shut him down you couldn’t argue with his logic behind it. There was a heavy silence as you took another sip from your glass, watching him closely as you took his words into consideration. The more you thought about it, the more you couldn’t find a reason to say no to the idea of an attractive guy intentionally showering you with affection all day- even if you  _ were _ supposed to play hard to get. The only thing that worried you was how far Eren was willing to take things just to win. Both of you were ridiculously competitive, which is why competitions between the two of you were a thing to begin with. Eren always took things a step farther though. The idea of losing  _ anything  _ in his eyes was essentially a form of death, and he made sure to always do whatever he could to avoid it- no matter how small the bet. 

“Fine, I’m in. But the moment I say it’s over, it’s over.” You agreed, allowing him to wear you down like he always did. He walked over to you casually, clearly satisfied with himself as he grinned at you. Once directly in front of you he placed his hands on the counter on both of your sides, locking you in your place. Your eyes rolled at his action, unamused by his attempt at flirting while you straightened yourself out in front of the counter, getting closer to his face. 

“Game doesn’t start til tomorrow. I need at least one day of peace before I’m sent to hell.” You joked as you pushed his chest with your free hand, causing him to stumble backwards slightly. As the free space opened up you walked out of his hold and made your way back to the couch, holding your knees to your chest once you were seated with your cup. You could hear him groan in disdain as he followed you back into the living room. 

“That’s not fair that gives you time to think of a game plan.”

“You proposed the stupid thing if it was that serious you should have come up with one before telling me.” He sprawled out on the couch beside you, his head next to your thigh and his feet propped up on the other side of the couch. You gently brought down your hand, petting his head as you continued to drink with your other one. You had no idea what you had just gotten yourself into.

\-----

Two days had passed since then, and there was nothing. He had done nothing. You wondered if Eren had forgotten about the competition the two of you agreed to, but that wasn’t like him. You knew that once he set his mind on something that was it for him, he wouldn’t have just forgotten about it a day or two later. The thought almost gave you anxiety because you knew that if he didn’t forget, that meant that he was plotting, and whatever he planned to do would be calculated.  _ You had to get him first _ . You offered him to come over that night for a movie night, hoping that he’d have his guard down and you’d be able to get the first move in. You made sure to wear your lounge shorts instead of sweatpants that night. There was a set up of one large blanket, along with some popcorn and candy that you placed on top of the covering. Just as you completely got yourself together you could hear a soft knock at the door, and you knew it was him. You quickly made your way as you took a deep breath to prepare yourself for the embarrassment you knew you’d feel after that night. As you opened the door you silently cursed to yourself as you took in his appearance. His hair was pulled into a slightly messy bun, and his crew neck loose enough that it slightly exposed his collarbone. You could tell that he had just shaved that night from how smooth his skin looked, and he looked  _ good. _

“Nice taking advantage of the situation tonight.” You remarked, rolling your eyes as you turned to make your way back to the living room. You could hear him hum in response as he closed the door before following you to the spot in the living room. 

“Well it clearly looks like I’m not the only one, huh?” You playfully slapped his shoulder as he sat on the floor beside you, pulling the blanket over the two of you. You already discussed which movie the both of you should watch while he was getting ready to come over. You were glad that neither of you wanted to watch a romance, at least then you knew that you wouldn’t hate yourself that entire night. The two of you agreed to watch a thriller movie that night, only at Eren’s request that the movie not be a horror. As the movie started you could feel him tense up beside you,  _ he was nervous _ . The idea of Eren being nervous around you almost made you want to burst into laughter in that very moment. 

“You know that you can relax, right?” You teased as you rested your head on his shoulder, to which he flicked you lightly on your forehead. Normally he was one to go back and forth with banter, but he was too invested in the movie to be bothered. You spent the first half of the movie plotting how to make your first move on him, and if you even wanted to attempt at it that night at all. Part of you started to think that you had forgotten how to even flirt, or make someone nervous because it had been months since you last had to. You started getting fidgety as you thought about every possible move you could make. 

“Look who can’t relax now.” You heard Eren say beside you, his face still glued to the tv in front of you. You rolled your eyebrows in response, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see you either way. Without giving it much thought you gently placed your right hand on his thigh, rubbing at it slowly as you squeezed him through his clothes. You could have sworn you heard him suck his teeth just for a moment before he grabbed at your hand and pressed it against the edge of the couch over your head. He grabbed your face with his free hand, squeezing roughly as he turned to you, his nose barely touching yours. You could feel your heart pick up its pace as you swallowed hard, unsure of what to do next. You weren’t expecting him to make a move when you made yours, the thought never occurred to you- especially with how stiff he was earlier. Now that he did you were completely thrown off, and at his mercy.

“You’re too easy.” He whispered as he looked you in your eyes. The feeling of his breath on your lips subconsciously made you want to lean forward, closing the gap that was in between you. You tried to focus yourself, refusing to show any sign of defeat as he kept you in his grip. Time had seemed to slow down painfully as the two of you watched each other, waiting to see who would break first- but you knew it wouldn’t be you. There was no way in hell you would have allowed him to get you to break first when  _ you  _ were the one that initiated things that night. You slowly inched your face closer to his, your noses now pressed heavily against each other and your lips only one move away from meeting each other. Instinctively you grabbed at his shirt, bunching it up in your fist as you held him close against you. The air in the room felt like it had gotten hundreds of pounds heavier as you felt the heat in your face rise viciously. With a grunt of defeat he let go of your face, opting to grab your hand away from his shirt instead as he pulled himself away from you. You immediately became aware of what just happened between the two of you and you watched as he picked himself up from the floor. He started making his way to the door awkwardly. 

“This round was all you. I’ll get you next time I have work to do.” He scrambled out of the apartment, leaving you staring at the spot where he had just been with a smile of satisfaction filled your face. You knew he didn’t have any work to do that day because he had finished it all the day before. For a moment you felt proud of yourself for being able to make him cave first without putting much thought to it, but it wasn’t long before the feeling of dread settled at the pit of your stomach. You knew that since you had made your first move as aggressive as you did, that meant that whatever move he decided to do next would be worse, and you weren’t prepared at all.

  
  



	3. 3

“I need you to relax more.”

“My spine hurts, this isn’t the most comfortable position.” You groaned as you forced your arms to relax as they dangled above your head. Half of your body laid out of the window by Eren’s bed, your head protected by the stairwell beneath you.

On occasion Eren would invite you over to practice his photography on you. Most times they were candid, but every now and then he had a complete photoshoot planned out before you even agreed to doing it. Photography was one of the hobbies he’d picked up in college and became obsessed with ever since. He wasn’t the best at the hobby- most of his pictures were mediocre, but you loved doing it with him too much to care. At first you found it almost embarrassing how excited he got over the blandest pictures, but the more you experienced it with him the more you found yourself loving it just as much as he did. There was something special about the experience you shared with him, like it was another language that the two of you got to keep a secret from the rest of the world. You closed your eyes for a moment, bracing yourself for the harsh pressure against your spine that the windowsill gave you. A low hum escaped your lips as you relaxed against the pain, slowly breathing in and out before opening your eyes to be greeted by the blinding sunlight. The slight burning sensation from the sun shocked your eyes and you let out another deep slow breath, forcing yourself to relax against the harsh brightness. Your eyes stung and your back ached, you had never felt more uncomfortable in your life, but from Eren’s perspective you were nothing but tranquil. There was something about the way that he saw you in those still moments that brought him the deepest comfort. You could hear the faint click of his camera go off a few times before deciding to move your position to relieve your back pain. You turned on your stomach, resting your elbows on the windowsill as you positioned yourself at a 90 degree angle. You noticed the leftover joint and lighter that you had placed on the stairwell beneath you and you grabbed them, lighting the plant as you looked over at Eren.

“Don’t be shy, take a picture.” You encouraged in between pulls. 

“Something’s not right.” He said as he placed the camera on the desk beside him. You watched as he made his way over to you, studying your form with each step. Before you were able to inhale the smoke another time, his right hand gripped your right thigh roughly, moving it over to the side a bit more than it already was. You strained your neck to look at him behind you as he kept adjusting your legs in the same manner, seemingly unaware of how suggestive the motion was. It wasn’t until he gripped your waist, pulling your butt back towards him, that you decided to say something about his sudden movements. His grip was sturdy and focused, part of you almost didn’t want to ruin the moment that you were creating in your head, but you knew it would be more rewarding to see him squirm. 

“Gotta get consent first before you try to fuck me Jaeger.” You joked, taking another pull from your joint as you turned back to look at the building across from you. His hands immediately left your sides and you heard him stand from the bed, making his way back to his camera. 

“Your angle was off that’s all.” He spoke softly as the sound of the shudder filled the room again. You pushed yourself back slightly, arching your back more in a teasing manner at him. You could hear him suck his teeth in frustration as you wiggled your hips from side to side while laughing at yourself. Another click ran through the room and you turned to look at him from the side, scrunching your face as you straightened yourself out. 

It had been a few days since your last attempt at winning the bet between you two, and Eren still hadn’t made a move on you yet. You knew it wasn’t like last time when he tried to blindside you, but you didn’t know what he was playing at. A part of you worried that you had been too much that night, or that you had made him uncomfortable and he just didn’t know how to express it. Realistically you knew that wasn’t the case, but you couldn’t bring yourself to rationalize any other reason for his weird behavior.  _ It was like he wanted you to tell him you wanted him to make a move. _ Upon the realization you let out a loud gasp, trying to sit upright only to have your back smack the top of the windowsill. After crawling back in from under the window you sat upright, legs tangled beneath you as you looked over at the green eyed boy on the other side of the room. His eyebrows raised at you from your sudden outburst for a moment before deciding to take a picture of the moment, letting out a small laugh as he did so. 

“Why haven’t you made a move yet?” Your sudden burst made him lower his camera, setting it back down on the table beside him as he looked at you. 

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, the bet.” You rolled your eyes at his attempt to make you spell out everything for him. He had just confirmed it with his behavior.  _ He wanted you to beg for it _ . You scoffed at his unspoken confirmation as you shook your head at him, assuming he knew what you meant by it. 

“The bet is to see who can cave first not who tries to fuck who first. I’ll just let you come to me.” He said simply, shrugging as he leaned against the wall behind him. Your eyes widened at his words before you leaned back, sprawling yourself across his bed on your back. You moved your legs from beneath you and placed your feet in front of you, bending your knees so they were pointed towards the ceiling. 

“I’m not going to beg you to make a move on me- let alone that.”

“We’ll see.” There was a brief pause before you felt his weight settle beside you on the bed. “I’m going clubbing tonight do you wanna come?” You turned your head to the side and looked over at the boy who was looking back at you. You never took Eren for the type to go clubbing on his own, he had always been dragged out by Jean- or so you thought. It had been a while since you properly enjoyed nightlife so you nodded your head in response. 

“Yea but only if you buy drinks.”

“You could literally get men to buy your drinks for you-”

“Exactly, you.” You laughed at the sound of him scoffing in response. You propped yourself up quickly, turning over on your legs and knees as you looked over at the boy relaxed against the headboard. “You’re gonna buy my drinks tonight  _ and _ no bet moves at the club.” You looked at him expectantly, tilting your head to the side as you waited for a response. 

“Fine. But next time you buy drinks.” You nodded in agreement, excited for the night that you had ahead of you. Crawling backwards you carefully got off of his bed, getting yourself together before turning to make your way out of his room. You heard him get up behind you, only moving a few footsteps before the both of you stopped. 

“Where are you going, it’s only 4.” He questioned as he held his hand out, trying to reach for you. You turned to face him, your eyebrows furrowed and your nose scrunched at his odd question. 

“Do you plan on keeping me hostage til there’s no time to get ready?”

“You’re being dramatic, it's 4...you have hours.”

“I’ll get ready now and come by when I’m done, I’ll see you then don’t let the separation anxiety kill you already.” You continued making your way out of his apartment and back across to yours. As you got ready you facetimed Sasha for the majority of the time, talking to her about your situation with Eren. You had finally gotten to the stage of shaving your legs when it was around 5:30. Sasha had been begging you to show her a picture of the alleged “hot neighbor”, and the moment you sent her one you hadn’t known peace since. 

“No Y/n you don’t understand….he looks delicious.” You scoffed as you wiped both of your legs off with a warm cloth, rinsing them in the warm water afterwards. You held the phone in your right hand as you made your way back into your bedroom, mentally preparing for the awkward conversation you were about to have with one of your best friends. 

“Sasha please remember this is a person, not food.” You set your phone down on your dresser before opening your closet door, ready to scan the various articles of clothing to see what you’d pick. “Plus, he seems like one of those guys that you only need to fuck once to get out of your system y’know?” Sasha hummed in agreement at this, nodding her head into the camera even though you couldn’t see. 

“I guess...but it’s still nice to have a hot neighbor, and you have  _ two _ .”

You continued to sift through your clothes in search of what to wear until you finally decided on something. You decided to pick out your favorite lingerie set as you got ready, deciding that if you were going to look good you might as well go all out. The two of you continued to yell over the phone as you listened to Sasha gossip about all of the drama that was going on in her life. You had learned that Sasha had met a new boy,  _ Connie _ , whom she claims is the male version of her. It was heartwarming to listen to your best friend gush over her romantic interests because he wasn’t one to typically do so. As amazing as she was, Sasha had always been more invested in her friendships than her romantic life- which was partially what inspired you to let go of hookup culture. You admired how sure of herself Sasha was in everything she did, and you knew that if she was ranting to you about this guy that he must’ve been even more amazing than she claims. As you got dressed you could feel your heart slightly ache as you thought about how much nicer it would have been to experience all of this with her physically by your side. It was moments like these that you realized how much you really missed having her in your life all of the time. 

“Y/n it’s almost 7.” Sasha yawned through the phone. You looked over at the screen in the middle of your makeup routine and groaned as you acknowledged that she was right about the time. You had a tendency to move very slowly while getting ready, and what should normally take you about an hour and a half almost always ends up taking you multiple hours. You looked around as you wondered where the time went, and how you had managed to get so little done. 

“I’ll call you tomorrow okay I need to focus so I’m out of here soon.” The two of you said your goodbyes to each other and you mentally prepared yourself for the hissyfit you knew Eren was going to have from you taking too long to go back over. As you looked at yourself in the mirror one final time- proud of the look you managed to put together, you grabbed your phone and your keys, making your way to the door. The moment you opened your front door you were greeted by the sight of Eren, who was making his way over to your apartment to interrogate you. He paused in his tracks, scanning your appearance twice as he visibly swallowed. You decided to keep walking towards him, already self aware of how good you looked that night. You linked his arm with yours as you guided him back to his apartment with a smile on your face. 

“I’m pretty sure I said to  _ not  _ let the separation anxiety get to you.” You joked as you moved to the side, allowing him to unlock his front door. 

“You took  _ three _ hours.” He emphasized as the door opened. The two of you began taking your shoes off before making your way towards the makeshift bar. “You literally just made it in time to pregame.”

“We can’t pregame for two to three hours Eren.”

“Sure we can.” He started, pouring out two shots of tequila as he gave you a mischievous grin. “Let’s make it a game.” You raised your eyebrows in his direction, waiting for him to elaborate as you held the shot glass in your right hand.

“Game on.”

  
  



	4. 4 [mild nsfw]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally was gonna write this as a smut but i didn't want the chap to be so long so this is just intro to the smut that ill post by this weekend sorry for the tease lmao

The liquid burned as it travelled down your throat slower than you hoped it would. The bitter aftertaste lingered on your tongue as you scrunched your nose up, grimacing as you placed the glass down in front of you. You could hear a small chuckle leave Erens lips as he poured more of the liquid into your shot glass. You had already finished your first small cup of lemonade that you were using as a chaser for the drink- and you were only two shots in. The thought of having to taste that same bitterness again multiple times left an uneasy feeling in your stomach as you watched the drink closely, glaring down at it as if it was your enemy. Eren had yet to take a drink because like  _ always _ he was dedicated to winning the short game between you two. 

“This isn’t fair, I’m doing all the drinking.” You whined as you tore your eyes away from the glass and settled your sight on him. His hand reached for his drink, effortlessly tossing the liquid into his mouth. You watched him squeeze his eyes shut as he forcefully swallowed the drink, a deep satisfaction filling you at the sight of him suffering the same way you already did twice. 

“I’m the lightweight here.” He opened his eyes once he gathered himself together again. He didn’t bother to refill his cup, anticipating that he wouldn’t need to by the next round of the makeshift game he was playing. 

“Doesn’t matter. My turn.” You said as you prepared yourself for a question to ask. The two of you had decided to ask each other invasive questions, allowing the other person to choose whether they would rather drink or answer. The game was perfectly tailored to Eren, he knew you were the kind of person that couldn’t handle the embarrassment of sharing personal details- and he was the complete opposite. For him it was an easy win, and a way to prevent himself from getting sloppily drunk. What he  _ didn’t  _ know was how outspoken you became when you got drunk.

“Worst hookup, go.” You took your turn, asking him as you leaned into the couch with your elbow propped up by your head. You watched as his eyes widened in slight surprise from the nature of your question. 

“I almost died once.” You furrowed your eyebrows as you shot him an incredulous look. From what you knew about Eren and the way he presented himself to you, the idea of him doing anything remotely dangerous during sex almost seemed ridiculous. His face blushed quickly at your look, knowing that he’d have to elaborate the details of what happened that day. You straightened yourself out a bit as you tilted your head to the left slightly, preparing yourself for the ride his story was about to take you on. 

“Go on.” You pressed after a moment, realizing he was still preparing himself to share the story. 

“You can’t laugh at me.” You rolled your eyes at his words as you nodded in agreement. “It was like two years ago...and basically we got too into it, and I asked her to sit on my face…” He tilted his head back and groaned mid sentence, causing you to laugh as you began to get an idea of what happened. His hands reached up to his face, roughly rubbing his forehead as he shook his head out of embarrassment as the vivid memory made its way to his brain. 

“No fucking way….” you interrupted, adding salt to his wound of humiliation. 

“She was just positioned weird so my nose was blocked.” His words caused you to double with laughter and your body began to shake from the movement. “I tried to tap her to get her attention so she’d move but she didn’t realize, so I had to shove her completely off after a while it was humiliating.”

“That was fantastic.”

“Fuck you, now you can’t drink next round.” He said as he lifted his head back up to look at you, rolling his eyes at the sight of your self satisfaction. You rolled your eyes as you shrugged in response, unconcerned with what questions Eren had prepared for you. Your right hand wrapped around your glass and you brought it up to your lips, locking eyes with the boy beside you as you drank the burning liquid. The taste spread throughout your mouth and you felt your throat slightly close up as you forced yourself to not react to the sensation, not wanting to grimace and ruin the “cool girl” moment you were having. You watched as Eren stifled a laugh at the sight of you trying not to gag. His eyes lit up in amusement as he patiently watched you put the glass back down.  _ He was loving this. _

“If i’m gonna have to answer any of your questions I need to drink first.”

“When and how was the last time you slept with someone.”

“Months ago and less than satisfactory, next.” You quickly replied, waving your hand up at the thought of having to share that moment. 

“You’re so boring.” Eren complained as he grabbed his glass and began pouring himself another shot. He took a moment to look at the liquid in its glass before drinking it so that the two of you would be at least close to being on the same page. His face curled up only for a moment as he swallowed the drink. It took you a moment to think of something else to ask him that you thought would humiliate him. Only just less than an hour had passed since you had started drinking with him, and you knew that sooner or later both of you would run out of questions to ask. You sat for a moment with your hand holding your chin deep in thought as you studied the boy beside you, watching his body language as he waited for you to come up with something. All of the questions that you could think of felt elementary to you, none of them had the shock factor that you  _ knew _ Eren was looking for.  _ Then it hit you. _

“What’s your secret thing...like your fantasy?” 

You didn’t even know what you were expecting as a response. His hand reached for the bottle again and he began filling the cup silently. Immediately tossing the alcohol to the back of his throat now for the third time. As he set down the bottle and his drink you let out an annoyed scoff, rolling your eyes at his refusal to answer the question. His silence started to pique your interest since this was the first time he denied you an answer. Part of you wondered how embarrassing/ bad the fantasy must have been for him not to want to share it even with you. You scooted yourself closer to him, leaning forward so you were almost close to his face as you broke into a mischievous smile. You could feel his breathing stop for a moment once your face leaned towards his as he stared at you, unsure of what to do with himself. 

“Can I at least get a hint? Don’t be boring.” You joked, taunting him for the same phrase he used on you whenever you chose to drink instead of answering. 

“I already drank, my turn.” He moved slightly closer to you, the alcohol already working in his system. “What’s yours?” You felt his nose slightly brush against yours and you couldn't help but allow yourself to look down at his lips that barely ghosted over your own. You became aware of the tingling sensation in your lips that let you know you were tipsy at the very least. The heat in your face was almost unbearable as his eyes remained locked on yours and you cleared your throat slightly, waking yourself up from whatever temporary trance you were in. 

“I’ll drink to that.”

“I’ll help.” 

It took you a moment to process what he meant by his words, and you watched as he slowly backed away from you just enough to grab your shot glass and the supply of alcohol. He poured the drink in carefully, not letting it touch the rim to prevent himself from making a mess due to his alcohol induced looseness. Once he turned back to you his right hand gripped your chin lightly and your eyes furrowed in response, still unsure of what he was attempting to do. You felt your head tilt back a bit as he moved you by your chin so you were looking upwards and it finally dawned on you. Your eyes widened as you tried to look at him as he propped your mouth open by squeezing your cheeks. As his left hand raised towards your face you instinctively grabbed both of his wrists, unsure of what else to do with yourself. As the tequila slowly made its way down your throat you felt the heat of it spread all over your body, settling at the pit of your stomach as you squeezed tighter around his wrists. You tilted your head forwards, allowing the last few drips to run down your lip as you kept your eyes on his. 

“My turn.” You smirked, biting down on your biting lip as you released his wrists from your grip, causing him to pull his hands away from your face in the process. Not bothering to protest, he leaned back against the couch as you prepared his shot sloppily from the effect of the alcohol in your system.

After preparation you turned back to him, shifting your legs so they rested on either side of his thighs as you hovered over his body. His hands glossed over the sides of your legs, running up them and settling on your hips as you mirrored his last action and grabbed his face with your left hand. You squeezed roughly on his cheeks, forcing his mouth open as he watched you closely through his long eyelashes. As you poured the liquid into his mouth gently, your body pressed against his as you leaned into his grip. His hands tightened their grip on you as you pulled the glass away from his face and set it down on the arm of the couch, unconcerned with whether or not it would fall. The moment he lifted his head you felt yourself press your lips against his in a clumsy, rushed motion- as if your actions weren’t your own anymore. There was a haziness that spread across your head as you took in the softness of his lips, completely unaware of his right hand travelling up your body. A sudden loss of air brought you back to yourself as he wrapped his fingers around your throat tightly, humming into the kiss as he did so. The feeling of the pressure against your airway was almost euphoric, and for a moment you had completely forgotten about the bet between the two of you- and so did he. His lips burned as the heat in face intensified from the way his lips moved against yours. His grip around your throat loosened as he felt your lips slowly pull away from his, leaving him in an entranced state. You loved the way his eyes scanned your face in desperation. The way his lips stayed parted, begging for you to allow them to press against yours again. You pulled back completely in satisfaction, slowly getting up from your spot above him. His eyes stayed stuck on you as he watched you walk towards his room, not moving a muscle from the way you had left him. 

You made your way to his room, an idea immediately coming to you once you saw the look on his face. As you twisted the doorknob and stepped into the bedroom your eyes scanned the area quickly, trying to find the spot that he left his camera in as quickly as possible. You closed the door behind you softly, hoping that Eren wouldn’t catch on to you and decide to follow you into the room as you spotted the device resting on his dresser. Taking note of where the camera was, you quickly began removing your clothes, stripping each article off of your body as you shuddered from the cool air that surrounded you coming into contact with your bare skin. All that remained was the lingerie that you had picked out,  _ of which you mentally applauded yourself for thinking ahead _ . Without giving yourself any time to convince yourself out of the act, you grabbed his camera in one swift movement and turned to walk back towards the boy that you had left stranded in his living room. You mentally thanked Jean for his lack of presence during the time, knowing with certainty that this moment wouldn’t have ever happened if he were here. You got yourself together as you opened the door, straightening your back and giving yourself a small pep talk to boost your confidence as you slowly made your way towards him. The moment you were in his line of sight his eyes locked on you, and his mouth closed shut so tight that you could visibly see him clench his jaw from where you were. 

The lack of restraint painted on his face combined with the alcohol in your system was more than enough of the boost of confidence that you needed to go through with your impromptu plan. You walked over to him with a newfound security in yourself and returned to your previous positioning, straddling him with your legs on either side of him as you remained hovered above him. You could hear him suck his teeth as his hands wasted no time before rubbing themselves all over your almost entirely exposed body. His hands kneaded at your skin, massaging the back of your thighs with a desperate roughness before landing on your ass. He gripped at your exposed skin before landing a solid smack on your ass with his right hand, only to continue massaging the exposed area. At the impact of his hand you flinched, pressing yourself against his chest while continuing to look down on him. Your left hand pinched at his chin lightly, holding his face in place as you lowered your head so your lips were almost pressed against his ear. 

“Your turn to model for me.” You whispered before leaning back just enough to be able to lift the camera in front of him. 

You looked through the lens at him, moments away from taking the image, but it wasn’t  _ right _ yet. You set the camera to the left side of the two of you so it rested on the cushion of the couch and turned back to face the boy who was waiting patiently for whatever move you decided to make. Without warning you tugged his shirt upwards from its hem, attempting to pull it over his head to which he immediately complied, lifting his hands from where they were to allow you easy access when pulling it off. Once he had been freed from his shirt you tossed it carelessly to the side before biting down on his bottom lip with a sudden roughness. You tugged at the skin briefly before fully smashing your lips against his. The two of you moved against each other passionately, each kiss becoming more rushed and sloppier than the last. You moved your left hand so it was holding his cheeks, and you squeezed at his face, forcing his lips to part once again as you pushed your tongue against his. A muffled moan escaped his lips as he sat there limp, allowing you to do whatever you pleased with him. The sound was like music to your ears, filling your ego with every second that you had complete control over him. You pulled away after a moment of having him squirm under your touch and you looked at him, watching as he huffed, trying to catch his breath. Deciding that his look was satisfactory you reached for the camera and brought it up to your face, preparing yourself to capture the moment. Looking through the lens almost felt like you were watching something you weren’t supposed to see. His lips flushed pink, parted as he continued huffing, and his eyes were barely open yet still fixed on your figure above him as small beads of sweat trickled down his face. You pressed down on the button to the camera, patiently waiting as the sound of the click ran through the living room. 

“I’ll get you back for that.” His voice rang through your ears as you lowered the camera to look directly at him. Your head yanked back slightly as he pulled at your hair while leaning forward, his lips one movement away from your ear. His lips pressed gently against the side of your face and you could feel your heartbeat almost burst through your chest from the sudden act of dominance. Unsure of what your next move should be, you placed the camera back onto the couch beside you and moved your hand to the back of his head, gripping at the loose hair that slipped out of his bun. Before he could say another word you bucked your hips forward, grinding them roughly against his growing bulge to test how the sensation felt. He instantly pressed your body against his as he bent his head lower, sinking his teeth into your neck as he let out another cry of pleasure. The sharp pressure from his teeth against your skin caused you to moan softly as your eyes subconsciously fluttered shut and you continued to rock against his clothed bulge. For a moment the only thing you could hear were the echoes of moans, and the smacking of Eren’s lips as he continued to kiss and bite at your neck. His lips began to slowly travel up your neck, leaving small nips and pecs along the trail up your jaw. Your breath hitched at the action as you anticipated his lips pressing against yours. You closed your eyes, preparing to feel the softness of his lips that you missed. A moment had passed and you opened your eyes from the lack of impact, only to be greeted by his warm green eyes staring back at yours. 

“Do you want payback now or later?” His voice was barely above a whisper as he looked at you, forcing his eyes from looking down your lips. You stared at him, dumbfounded by him momentarily before realizing what he was implying.  _ You were moments away from sleeping with your neighbor.  _


End file.
